For far too long, the American West canon has centered around men, with larger-than-life personas like Buffalo Bill, Wyatt Earp, and Jesse James burned into our collective memory. But these enduring tales of cowboys and outlaws overlook the pivotal role women played during that era. To set the record straight, best-selling British author Katie Hickman dug into the real-life accounts of the women who helped shape the West, from the white settlers who made the treacherous cross-country journey to the African American slaves who accompanied them to the Native American tribes who had long inhabited those lands. As brilliantly told in Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West, the interplay of their inextricably intertwined existences paints a fuller picture.
The author of 10 history-focused books, Hickman spent months poring over diaries, letters, and personal accounts in order to tell these stories that are at once singular and symbolic. She admits that the book in its final form was much different than the one she set out to write—largely due to those characterized depictions of the West that are so familiar for many of us. Along the way, she developed a deep connection with the women whose tales she deftly weaves together in
